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BOOTES-3 observes Pluto occulting a star – DE

The BOOTES-3 dome at its new site, NIWA’s Lauder station in Central Otago (New Zealand). Credits: M. Jelinek
(ASU-CAS) and the BOOTES-3 Team (IAA-CSIC/Auckland U./NIWA).

While waiting for the NASA New Horizons spacecraft to reach Pluto in less than two weeks (closest distance will be 12,500 kilometers), in this time-lapse video you can see Pluto occultating a star. The images were taken with the GLORIA telescope BOOTES-3, recently moved to NIWA’s Lauder station in Central Otago (New Zealand). Watch the star in the centre closely. You will see it becoming dimmer and dimmer and then it gets brighter again as Pluto moves in front of it (see also the image on the left).